The fall leaves dominate the backyard and flowers are scarce

Well this November Bloom Day finds us with a limited number of flowers and a powerful number of brilliant fall leaves.  We have had an extended sunny autumn with many of the plants making a comeback as they (falsely) assume that the cold weather will never get any worse than the 28 degrees that we’ve seen now and then this fall.  It’s been altogether a great time for fall bulb planting (all completed this week), garden chores (never complete), and photography.

The few flowers that let us still claim this as bloom day are the Gallardia, some random snapdragons, a few bedraggled salvia, and some very nice little Calendula.

Gallardia grandiflora 'Arizona Sun'

There are a few other sources of flowers besides the perennials though.  In the pasture the dandelions have had a rebirth and I’ve also seen the Yellow Toadflax showing it’s cute little butter and eggs flowers.

Yellow Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris)

Another plant that persists in flowering beyond all reasonable expectations is the Loropetalum.  I first saw this plant in a posting from Les at A Tidewater Gardener.  It has already grown rapidly from 1 gallon plant this spring to a fairly decent sized shrub with pretty fuschia flowers that have strap-like petals.  The question will be how it survives our winters.   Stay tuned…

Loropetalum

Strap-like flowers on the Loropetalum

One other source of flowers are the plants we’ve brought inside in pots.  A particularly lovely violet shade is on the bougainvillea which is happily flowering (or what passes for flowering on a bougainvillea) in the basement.

Violet Bougainvillea

The various grasses have yielded their seed heads, some more colorful than others.  I couldn’t help noticing the fine scale of the pink muhly grass since Beth has brought several stalks into the house.

Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)

But the real color of the season is the leaves.  Everywhere you look there are various shades of leaves doing their thing.  The gigantic Red Maple in the backyard has turned a vivid yellow this year.  And it contrasts nicely with the other maples.

Red Maple with yellow fall leaves

Depending upon the light in the morning or evening the outline of the Japanese Maple leaves against the sky can also be quite artistic.

Japanese maple leaves in outline

The japanese maple leaves are also quite persistent as we move toward winter.

Speaking of persistency, one of my favorite trees in the forest is the American Beech.  The leaves turn from golden to a warm brown shade and last well into the winter.

Beech leaves

Although they stand out even in a mixed forest, if you can find them in a grove setting it can be perfectly wonderful.   We have one such grove along one of the trails at the Worthington Farm, a part of the Monocacy National Park.  It is a delightful, almost mythic place, at any time of year.  But in the fall it really comes alive with golden yellow-brown.  Seek such a grove out and treasure it.

American Beech (Fagus grandiflora) in forest grove

Go to May Dreams Gardens for other Garden Bloggers Bloom Day posts…